Infrastructure Management &
Monitoring for
Business-Critical ContinuityTM
The Avocent® Data Center Planner
Real-World Insight for Smarter Data Center Management
EXECUTION
AVAILABILITY
EFFICIENCY
What’s the state of your data center?
You are in a critical position.
The data center is IT’s most valuable (and expensive) asset, and you are responsible for the day-to-day
operation. The demand for your services has grown steadily and so has the complexity of your job.
Many professionals in your position have developed a range of ad hoc tools and techniques to manage
the physical infrastructure. Unfortunately, all too often these tools are neither comprehensive nor
integrated, failing to provide the real-world information needed to accurately plan and execute change.
You need a comprehensive solution.
Your life is complicated enough. Why continue to depend on
multiple modules and quick fixes?
MANAGE
You need a single, holistic solution capable of providing an
all-encompassing view of the detailed information required
to effectively manage the entire data center. Anything less
will come up short. You need Avocent Data Center Planner.
Now, with end-to-end device connection visualization and
up-to-date power usage information included, Data Center
Planner provides the most realistic, current-state view of your
physical infrastructure. With Avocent Data Center Planner,
you will gain real-world insight to enhance planning accuracy
and rapidly implement changes.
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Firewall
Server
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LCD T
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KVM Switch
Server
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ARE
EP
This comprehensive software solution is a visual
infrastructure planning and management tool within
Emerson Network Power’s strategic framework for data
center optimization. Data Center Planner combines
accurate and complete information about device and
equipment locations, as well as current capacities and
projected growth.
Plan and execute with
minimal access to the data
center floor
Server
TCP/IP
KNOW
Track assets, visualize
configurations and map
dependencies
M A I NTA I N
CONTROL
Configure, operate and
reboot remotely
Visualize, Manage and Control
Every time someone enters your data center and accesses a piece of equipment,
it creates a new set of risks. Together, DSViewTM 4 software and Data Center
Planner allow you to remotely plan, manage and control.
The Solution! The New Avocent® Data Center Planner
Delivering real-world visualization, insight and management capabilities
Avocent Data Center Planner provides a comprehensive solution for infrastructure planning and management.
Feature
Benefit
Inventory management
• Know physical locations and attributes of all equipment in your data center
• Search for assets by their characteristics or physical location
• Reduce the amount of time required to complete mandatory audits
• Decrease unaligned inventory and avoid unnecessary maintenance costs
• Securely manage access to plans and racks with fine-grained controls for granting read/write permissions to
owners and operators
Configuration management
• Simplify planning and management with a comprehensive model of the data center
• Improve communication with a single source of truth for both facilities and IT
• Capture, view and update device connections at the most granular level possible with end-to-end visualization
that simplifies planning and execution of changes, including expansion of the virtual environment or moves to
cloud-based architectures
• Reduce mean time to repair (MTTR)
Capacity tracking
• Know the infrastructure capacities and align resources to meet the data center requirements • Right-size the infrastructure and decrease costs associated with over-provisioning and risks associated with
under-provisioning
Reporting
• Improve decision-making time and accuracy with comprehensive analytics
• Gain detailed insight into infrastructure status and equipment utilization
Intuitive visual interface
• Enhance process efficiency while minimizing system administration
• At-a-glance infrastructure status and predictive modeling
“The task of managing configuration information was identified as a leading opportunity to improve
staff effectiveness. Nearly half (49 percent) of survey respondents reported using three to five systems
to document their infrastructure; furthermore, 67 percent of data center managers reported updating
documentation in the data center manually. These issues can only lead to the conclusion that the data
center is not being used as efficiently as it could be, effectively costing the organization money.”
– ARI, 2010 Report
A powerful new offering to take you to the
next level.
Enjoy unparalled visualization
Innovative graphics are dynamically updated as equipment is installed, decommissioned or moved within the infrastructure. End-to-end
connection visualization shows all the connections between any two assets, including intermediate assets. Our device symbol library is
rich, including all environmental statistics, nameplate power consumption information, dimensions and weights, plus connection and
port information made available by the manufacturer.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
• Know the current state of the data center at a glance
• Efficiently manage routine services and branch issues
• Reduce the time for connecting devices and quickly locate faults
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
• Be able to understand planned changes to the data center in real time
• Enjoy easy access to asset requirements for quick decisions
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
• Gain clarity through visibility of global operations from a single solution
Plan with confidence
Sophisticated modeling and predictive analysis capabilities, such as what-if scenarios, are easily created using a drag-and-drop interface.
The Data Center Planner intuitive interface provides visibility into projects across departments and locations. These project planning
features help organizations stay organized while allowing users to see potential impacts of planned changes before they occur, providing
for prioritization of activities, while reducing commonly associated risks.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
•Act with confidence when provisioning and decommissioning equipment
•Prepare for new implementations
•Create detailed asset change/adjustment plans
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
•Anticipate power and cooling needs
•Know that your facility can handle what’s expected of it
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
• Accurately anticipate budget needs
•Have greater confidence in capacity predictions and expectations
Know your capacity
Unique rack timeline and real-world power usage capabilities offer insights into actual consumption levels and predictions of when and
how rack capacities (space, power, cooling) may be impacted. This single solution, with configuration and project planning capabilities,
ensures that information is up to date and accurate.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
• Improve planning to lessen impact on facilities and overall infrastructure
• Anticipate issues, then avoid or resolve before the business is impacted
• Understand real power usage to release trapped or stranded power currently allocated
to racks
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
• Confidently implement installs and device changes without compromising availability
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
•Visualize data center expansion or contraction
•Establish and measure consistent metrics across the organization
Know your inventory
Save valuable time with on-demand reporting and centralized, controlled access to assets and plan information. Easily identify the assets
that are in production and those that are on the move. The single repository eliminates the need for personnel to conduct laborintensive audits and update multiple spreadsheets, freeing up resources and improving management efficiency.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
•Save time when looking up asset information
•Get rid of outdated, manual inventory processes
•Manage roll outs across multiple data centers from a single server with fine-grained
access rights
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
• Get immediate, trustworthy information on device requirements
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
• Increase staff efficiency and reporting accuracy
Share critical data with other departments
Standardized APIs support exchange of data to and from the Data Center Planner software database. Data exchange allows for sharing of
critical information across departments to support strategic operations management and planning.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
• Improve service levels and automate processes
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
•Incorporate the valuable data collected by the facilities management systems to the IT
business processes, enabling accurate operational decisions
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
•Eliminate redundant processes and streamline operations
•Maintain a comprehensive dashboard with current performance metrics
A powerful way to gain even more insight control.
Integrate with your current management tools.
Out-of-the-box integration with the following:
• Avocent® PDUs
• Liebert™ MPX/MPH
• DSView™ 4 Management Software
• Liebert SiteScan™ Web
Simplify, unify and automate.
Data Center Planner and DSViewTM 4 management software seamlessly integrate to provide a single
console for managing the data center.
Data Center Planner Software
DSViewTM 4 Management Software
The system of record for all physical
infrastructure equipment in your data center.
Complete data center control through a single interface.
Avocent Data Center Planner is designed
to be the system of record for the physical
equipment in your data center (location,
space, rack power, connectivity and
network). It connects, monitors and
communicates with all IT devices via
DSView 4 management software to create
a holistic, single view of your operations.
+
DSView 4 management software enables secure, out-of-band, centralized
management of all connected IT and network devices–physical and virtual–in
today’s often complex and geographically dispersed data centers. When used
in conjunction with KVM appliances, serial console appliances, service processor
gateways and rack PDUs, the hardware and software combine to allow IT
administrators to remotely access, monitor, measure and control target devices on
multiple platforms at numerous locations–anywhere, anytime, regardless of the
health or status of the operating system or network availability.
How does this help you?
With DSView 4 software integrated into your Data Center Planner install, you’ll enable secure, in- and out-of-band, centralized
management of all connected IT and network devices. Plus, a rich reporting and controlling interface means you are always on top of
what is going on in your data centers, no matter how dispersed.
DATA CENTER MANAGEMENT
•Improve security by reducing the access to the data center floor
•Execute decisions and configuration changes without jeopardizing compliance
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
• Reduce the number of escalations and unplanned outages
IT EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT
• Maintain best practices throughout the organization by standardizing and enforcing
policies
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words,
and Data Center Planner gives us a detailed picture of our infrastructure. As
we plan changes, it’s critical in helping us avoid the creation of hot spots or
overloads in certain areas. It puts a complete data center profile configuration
at my fingertips that I can use to rebuild the facility at an alternate site, if
needed. In spite of what physical constraints we might have at our site, Avocent
Data Center Planner lets us get the most out of our data center facility.”
– Matthew Pflugradt, Assistant Vice President of Computer Operations at Commerce Bank
Confidently move ahead.
Knowing that this is just one part of the broad Emerson portfolio.
Emerson Network Power is the only organization that has both the depth and breadth of solutions in
asset, power and cooling design and management, as well as embedded server firmware and
infrastructure management capabilities on millions of data center appliances worldwide. This
combination of resources, experience and technologies makes Emerson Network Power uniquely
positioned to help customers bridge the gap between the data center and IT infrastructure layers and
enable intelligent optimization and management of the data center infrastructure.
Never before has a single source existed where you can find what you need to handle more with less
complexity, all the while controlling costs and understanding and optimizing your overall performance.
Avocent Professional Services Our experts are ready to make you...experts.
Avocent Professional Services is ready to help you get the most from
your IT infrastructure management investments. Our professionals
can assist you through any phase of your IT lifecycle, from planning to
implementation, whatever is needed to help you reach that next
level of data center management maturity.
Deployment
Free up your IT resources to do what they do best: manage your IT
infrastructure. Avocent provides a comprehensive range of
deployment services, from on-site to remote, for planned installation
of your purchased equipment and extended assistance to optimize
your system configuration.
Support
Avocent Professional Services offer updates and upgrades on
Avocent software covered by the Avocent Professional Services
program. Software maintenance and support is available for one-,
two- or three-year periods and includes access to download the
latest updates to software and phone support during business hours
or options for 24/7 global support.
Training
In-depth training is available with a curriculum focused on best
practices and the most effective way to use your Avocent solution.
• Instructor-Led: Students receive detailed course guides and
experience hands-on lab exercises designed to get the most out
of every learning experience. Classes are available at Avocent
corporate, selected regional locations or at the customer site.
• Online - Virtual Classroom: Our virtual classroom training
provides you and fellow students with product and solutions
training delivered to your desktop by Avocent instructors. These
classes are a combination of virtual lecture sessions and labs
performed remotely.
• Online - Self-paced Training: We have everything from product
overviews and updates to relevant technology training.
Want to see Data Center
Planner in action?
We’d be happy to give you a live
demonstration of this exciting new offering.
Visit www.avocent.com to find out more.
Emerson Network Power.
The global leader in enabling Business-Critical ContinuityTM.
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Emerson, Business-Critical Continuity, Emerson Network Power, Avocent and DSView are trademarks of Emerson Electric Co. or one of its affiliated companies. ©2011 Emerson Electric Co. Emerson, Business-Critical Continuity and Emerson Network Power are trademarks of Emerson Electric Co. or one of its affiliated companies. ©2010 Emerson Electric Co.
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